


How It's Going to Be

by broadrippleisburning



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: College AU, M/M, coffee shop AU, you can pry coffee shop aus from my cold dead hands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-20
Updated: 2014-10-20
Packaged: 2018-02-21 21:46:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2483549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/broadrippleisburning/pseuds/broadrippleisburning
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was all Percy's fault, really, that Nico was forced to work the opening shift.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How It's Going to Be

It was Percy's fault, really, Annabeth had the opening shift Sunday morning, when Percy had called from the hospital. It wasn't anything major, a broken arm. Nico didn't know the details, but he was pretty sure it involved a tree. Everyone else was too busy, or just smart enough to not answer the phone, so the 5 AM shift fell on Nico.

 

He felt slightly better once Annabeth assured him that it was really only paramedics and people forced to work the early shift like him that would come in at such an early hour. She had also promised to cover one of his shifts. He could hardly stay mad at Annabeth, even when her idiot boyfriend was the reason he had to get out of bed with only four hours of sleep. At least Nico could allow himself a few hours to wake up before the coffee shop really got busy.

 

After half of an hour of working he had served a whopping _six_ customers. It was a slow morning, not that Nico minded, until some asshole came in and ordered ten coffees paying in mostly quarters, at six in the morning.

 

Nico glared at him as he told him the total. He knew Annabeth would be appalled at his customer service, but it was her fault he was in this mess in the first place. The guy's hair was too abysmally blonde to smile at this early in the morning, anyway.

 

“I'm pre-med,” the boy smiled, handing the change over, as if it was an explanation as to why he was buying so much coffee so early. Nico winced in sympathy all the same.

 

“Still doesn't explain the coffees,  _plural_ ,” Nico told him, starting on his order. 

 

“That would be the group of fellow sleep deprived pre-med students I forced to stay up all night to study with me,” he laughed, leaning on the counter. “So what's your major? How to  _still_ be emo in twenty fourteen?”

 

“Ha ha. Do you make a habit making fun of your baristas? Or just me?” Nico asked, glaring at him, handing over one of the coffees.

 

“Only the cute ones,” he winked. “But are you seriously trying to tell me you  _didn't_ cry when My Chemical Romance broke up?”

 

Nico responded with an eye roll as he handed over the last coffee, supplying drink trays as well.

 

“Hey, what's that on your arm?” the boy asked, pointing to Nico's tattoos.

 

Nico crossed his arms defensively, blushing. “Nothing.”

 

“Awake and Unafraid?” he asked, reaching over the counter to unfold Nico's arms, reading the tattoos resting on the tops of his forearms. “Ah, you have an MCR tattoo but you'd like me to believe you didn't even react to them breaking up?”

 

“You know, the fact that you  _knew_ my tattoo is an MCR tattoo, from just  _two_ words outs you as as much of an emo, if not more, as I am,” Nico informed him, dropping his arms to his sides as soon as the boy had let go of them.

 

“You got me there, Barista Boy,” he nodded thoughtfully, picking up his coffees.

 

“It's Nico,  _not_ Barista Boy.”

 

“I'm Will,” he smiled, turning to leave. “Nice to meet you,  _Nico_ .”

 

Nico glared at him as he walked out the door. Nobody should be that happy  _and_ blonde so early in the morning, it just wasn't physically possible.

 

 

Nico didn't think of the incident again until later that afternoon when he was recounting it Piper. 

 

“He was flirting with you,” Piper told him as she restocked the lids. “Did you really not notice?”

 

“He called me  _emo!”_ Nico exclaimed, waving his hands for emphasis.

 

“You are emo, just look at what you're wearing,” Piper replied, motioning to his all black uniform.

 

“It's our uniform, we are literally wearing the same thing,” Nico pointed out. “With that logic you must be extremely emo too.”

 

“Nope, just you,” Piper said, finishing up with the lids and moving on to the straws. “It's like you just emit an emo vibe, it doesn't matter  _what_ you're wearing.”

 

Nico frowned and piper laughed him. 

 

“Point him out to me next time he's here,” Piper told him, waving straws in his face.

 

“Well, I've never seen him here past six int the morning, so I doubt that will be necessary,” Nico replied, grabbing a cloth and heading out to clean tables for the last half hour of his shift.

 

 

 

It only took Piper a week to get her wish. Nico was working the closing shift with her, and with half an hour left before closing Will showed up, smiling cheerfully at everyone. 

 

“Nico!” he called, bounding up to the counter. Piper gasped behind Nico, running off to clean tables, or restock straws, or something within earshot.

 

“Will,” Nico replied, slightly less enthusiastic. “What can I get you today?”

 

“Something really sugary, with two shots of espresso, please,” Will smiled, taking out his wallet.

 

“Thanks for being so specific,” Nico replied sarcastically, ringing up his order. “Aren't med students supposed to be super healthy or something?”

 

“Common misconception,” Will winked conspiratorially. Handing over his change.

 

“Got it,” Nico replied, grabbing a cup and starting Will's order. “So, what brings you out for coffee so late? Thought you only came in at hours no one should be awake at.”

 

“Studying. And Annabeth told me you refuse to work morning shifts,” Will smiled. Piper make exaggerated hand motions at Nico from behind Will's back and Nico rolled his eyes. 

 

“You're always studying,” Nico observed, passing over Will's drink.

 

“I  _am_ going to school,” Will laughed. “Don't you study?”

 

“Sometimes. Not really,” Nico shrugged.

 

“You never even told me what you go to school for.”

 

“Art,” Nico offered, playing with the stack of lids in front of him.

 

“I should have guessed.”

 

“What does that mean?”

 

“It means that like, fifty percent of emos go into art after highschool.”

 

“And the other fifty percent?”

 

“Poetry.”

 

Nico laughed at that, Will looked shocked for a few seconds before smirking at Nico. 

 

“What?” he asked, eyeing Will suspiciously.

 

“Nothing, you're just really cute when you laugh,” Will smiled. Nico blushed. “By the way, could I get an extra cup?”

 

“Sure,” Nico nodded, grabbing one of the empty cups from behind him and handing it over.

 

“And a pen?” Will smiled.

 

“May I ask why?” Nico asked, handing over the sharpie he kept tucked in his apron.

 

“You'll see,” Will smirked, scrawling something on the cup before handing it back to Nico with the pen inside.

 

“Your number?” Nico asked, looking down at the number blatantly written on the cup.

 

“Yep,” Will nodded, blushing slightly. “You see in these situations it's usually the  _barista_ writing their number on the cup, but in our situation I decided to take initiative.”

 

“Okay,” Nico nodded, tucking the pen back into his apron.

 

“So, you'll call me? Because I'd like to continue this conversation, but I regrettably  _do_ have to get back to studying,” Will said with a shake of his head. 

 

“Okay,” Nico nodded again.

 

“Dinner this week?” Will asked, playing with the cardboard sleeve on his cup.

 

“Sounds good.”

 

“Okay, I'll see you then,” Will smiled, walking out the door, waving to Piper as he left. She waved back, smiling, before running over to Nico.

 

“I called it, I  _so_ called it,” she told him excitedly.

 

“Oh my gods,” Nico replied.

 

“And he's so cute, this is great, I can't wait to tell Annabeth,” Piper chattered.

 

“How is this even happening,” Nico hid his face in his hands, resigning himself to a lifetime of eternal teasing from his coworkers once they'd all learned what happened here.

 

“I'm going to tell everyone,” Piper assured him, patting him on the shoulder. Nico sighed.

 

“You'd better call him,” Piper warned, threatening Nico with a straw, not that he could see, his head still hidden in his hands.

 

“I'm going to go clean tables,” he told her, grabbing a cloth, his face burning. 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
